From 16 to 18 September 2025, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) will be hosting an international conference organised by the BASIC (Better Assistance in Crises) Research programme, on ‘Social and Humanitarian Assistance in Crises: agendas, ambitions and aspirations for more effective intervention’.
The conference is the culmination of a five-year international research programme, BASIC (Better Assistance in Crises) Research, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which explores how social protection approaches can be used in protracted crises to improve assistance and help vulnerable people.
The event will gather researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world to discuss enhancing global knowledge and action on social protection for crisis-affected populations across five key themes:
- Coordination and financing across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus;
- Politics, accountability and access;
- Sustaining and maintaining systems in contexts of crises;
- Strengthening livelihoods in protracted crises;
- Methods and methodologies of researching social assistance in crises.
Live events
In-person participation in the conference is now closed, however three plenary sessions will be live-streamed for anyone to participate online:
Social and humanitarian assistance in crises: agendas, ambitions and aspirations for more effective intervention
Tuesday 16 September | 09:30 to 10:45 | Online on Zoom.
Weathering the storm – making the case for social protection in crises
Tuesday 16 September | 14:45 to 15:45 | Online on Zoom.
Protecting the gains: how social protection can support livelihoods and growth in crises
Wednesday 17 September | 14:00 to 15:00 | Online on Zoom.
IDS Fellows Rachel Sabates-Wheeler and Jeremy Lind who are co-convening the conference say: “At a time when conflicts have proliferated, but global aid budgets have been slashed, it is essential to strengthen our understanding of how social assistance can be provided more effectively, efficiently, and sustainably to crisis-affected populations. By convening this conference, we hope to generate and share new insights that have real practical application for international, national and local actors working across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus, and in the most difficult protracted crisis settings.’
Related
- Find out more about the Basic programme.
- Read Basic research on OpenDocs – the IDS repository
- Get news and updates from the BASIC Research programme on their LinkedIn page.
Key contacts
